SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2577
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)
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SENATE, Monday, June 25, 2018
The committee on Ways and Means to whom was referred the Senate Bill supporting community access television (Senate, No. 1857),-- reports, recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment substituting a new draft with the same title (Senate, No. 2577).
For the committee,
Karen E. Spilka
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2577
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)
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An Act supporting community access television.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 166A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding following section:-
Section 23. (a) A cable television operator shall provide a public, educational or governmental access channel and connection so that the channel is delivered, and subscribers receive, the public, educational or governmental access channel with a good quality signal and in the same format as the primary local broadcast signals, including a high definition format and a standard digital format if such formats are so delivered and received by subscribers for the primary local broadcast signals; provided, however, a cable television operator shall not be required to provide the signal of a public, educational or governmental access channel to a subscriber on any particular channel number or to provide such signals in any particular order.
(b) A cable television operator shall provide a public, educational or governmental access channel in a nondiscriminatory manner on any navigational device, on-screen program guide or menu such that a subscriber may access the public, educational or governmental access channel in the same manner as local broadcast channels.
(c) For the purpose of this section, a cable television operator shall include a cable operator and a multichannel video programming distributor as defined in 47 U.S.C. 522.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit, condition or restrict a cable television operator’s use of any type of subscriber equipment or any transmission technology.